The fire at Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital was caused by an oxygen tank, High Commission for Human Rights

Shafaq News / The High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq revealed, on Monday, the "real" causes of the fire that broke out in Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad.

The Commission said in a statement that its fact-checking teams concluded that the fire was caused by an oxygen tank exploded inside the recovery hall.

It indicated that the halls were overcrowded with visitors which made the human losses more.

“Receiving this number of visitors indicates that the hospital administration does not adhere to the Ministry's instructions regarding the entry of companions to the recovery and isolation places.”

The Commission concluded that the hospital does not have an early warning system; therefore most of the rescue operations were carried out by the patients' companions and families.

It added that the fire extinguishing equipment were not used unintentionally, and the civil defense team arrived an hour after the fire broke out.

Eyewitnesses confirmed to the Commission that the middle floor of the hospital was completely burnt, and many patients and their companions died of suffocation.

The victims’ number may reach 130. Some victims are not identified because the fire deformed their bodies.

The Commission warned that there is a clear deficiency in health services and a flagrant violation of human rights, especially the "right to health" by government agencies represented by the Ministry of Health and the hospital administration.

It called for the formation of committees to monitor the work of hospitals in Baghdad and the governorates to preserve the lives of citizens, and to supervise the implementation of safety and security conditions in health and medical institutions.

It stressed also the need to compensate to the families of victims and injured, as well as demanding to hold those involved in the fire accountable.

Earlier, a fire at a COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad took at least 88 lives and forced some people to leap through windows out of the burning building.

As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi blamed negligence and suspended his Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi pending an inquiry into Saturday's blaze at the Ibn Khatib hospital.

Some 110 people were also injured. Most of the dead and injured were patients.